Cited by 55Psychometric Methodologies and TestingEmpathy and Medical EducationPersonality Traits and Psychology

Metric goodness and measurement invariance of the Italian brief version of interpersonal reactivity index: A study with young adults

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Diotaiuti, Pierluigi, Valente, Giuseppe, Mancone, Stefania, Grambone, Angela, Chirico, Andrea·2021·Frontiers in Psychology

Abstract

The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) is a widely used multidimensional measure to assess empathy across four main dimensions: perspective taking (PT) empathic concern (EC) personal distress (PD) fantasy (F). This study aimed to replicate the Italian validation process of the shortened IRI (Interpersonal Reactivity Index) scale in order to confirm its psychometric properties with a sample of young adults. The Gender Measurement Invariance of empathy in this age group was also an objective of the work in order to increase the data on this aspect. A total of 683 Italian university students participated in a non-probabilistic sampling. The 16-item version was confirmed in its four-factor structure but with changes to some items. The model showed good fits with both the CFA and the gender Measurement Invariance. The internal consistency measures were found to be fully satisfactory. Convergent validity was tested by the correlations with the Prosocialness Scale for Adults and The Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 . As hypothesized the measure proved good convergent validity with Prosocialness, i.e., the willingness to assist, help, share, care and empathy with others, and a relevant inverse association with the External Oriented Thinking, characterizing individuals with emotionally poor thinking. This research provided additional evidence for a link between alexithymia and poor empathic abilities in young adults.

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  1. Davis M. H. (2015). Empathy and prosocial behavior, in The Oxford Handbook of Prosocial Behavior, eds Schroeder D. A. Graziano W. G.. (Oxford University Press), 282– 306.
  2. Hoffman M. (1987). The contribution of empathy to justice and moral judgment, in Empathy and Its Development, eds Eisenberg N. Strayer J. (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press), 47– 80.

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Authors
Diotaiuti, P., Valente, G., Mancone, S., Grambone, A., & Chirico, A.
Affiliations
  • Università degli studi di Cassino e del Lazio Meridionale (IT)
  • Sapienza University of Rome (IT)
Corresponding author
Diotaiuti, Pierluigi
Venue
Frontiers in Psychology
Published
2021-12-20
Volume
12
Pages
773363-773363
ISSN
1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4200022543
Cited by
55
References
97
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 7
FWCI
3.95
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca - Università degli Studi di Cassino (submittedVersion, public-domain)
  • IRIS Research product catalog (Sapienza University of Rome) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca - Università degli Studi dell Aquila (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Empathy and Medical Education
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
Keywords
Interpersonal Reactivity Index, Italian adaptation, empathy, measurement invariance, gender differences, young adults, psychometric validation, factor structure, alexithymia, perspective taking, empathic concern, personal distress, fantasy

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